Server for medical device

ABSTRACT

One aspect of the present invention is a server for communicating with a medical device. The server comprises a web browser process for communicating with a remote device and a pump interface process for communicating with a medical device. Another aspect of the present invention is a medical device. The medical device comprises memory configured to store data and a programmable circuit in electrical communication with the memory. The programmable circuit is programmed with a web server for communicating data with a remote device. Another aspect of the invention is a server for communicating with a medical device. The server comprises memory for storing data and a programmable circuit in electrical communication with the memory. The programmable circuit programmed with an interface for communicating with a medical device.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/066,425filed Feb. 22, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/547,642 filed Feb. 23, 2004, each of which is herebyfully incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to medical devices, and more particularly,a server for medical devices such as pumps.

BACKGROUND

Medical pumps are an important part of providing care to a patient. Theyare used for a variety of different therapies such as pain relief,nutrition, chemotherapy, and insulin. Each one of these therapiestypically requires a different program for controlling operation of thepump.

Additionally, each program typically requires different operatingparameters for each patient depending on a variety of factors such asthe substance prescribed for delivery, the prescribed dosage, andphysical attributes of the patient.

Additionally, medical clinics, hospitals, or other facilities need tomanage all of their medical pumps. Managing the pumps requires updatingprograms, loading the appropriate program into the pump depending on theprescribed therapy, loading and tracking operating parameters into thepump, and tracking performance of the pump.

All of these issues present a tremendous amount of information relatedto the patient and the pump that needs to be tracked, managed, andcoordinated. Examples of such information includes patient records,standing orders, prescriptions, and the like. These issues also presenta great deal of functionality that must be executed, managed, andcoordinated. Examples include programming pumps, tracking pumpinventory, downloading pump software and upgrades, monitoring andrelaying alarm conditions, and tracking pump history logs.

Additionally, when an institution has a variety of different networkeddevices through which a caregiver would like to communicate with thepumps, each one needs to be individually programmed to communicate withthe pumps. This programming drives up the cost and time required tonetwork programmable devices and pumps. The cost and required time iseven greater when the institution has a variety of different pumps andmedical devices because the networked devices would require separateprogramming to communicate with each different make and model of medicalpump or other medical device.

SUMMARY

In general terms, the present invention is directed to communicatingwith a medical device such as a pump.

One aspect of the present invention is a server for communicating with amedical device. The server comprises a web browser process forcommunicating with a remote device and a pump interface process forcommunicating with a medical device.

Another aspect of the present invention is a medical device. The medicaldevice comprises memory configured to store data and a programmablecircuit in electrical communication with the memory. The programmablecircuit is programmed with a web server for communicating data with aremote device.

Another aspect of the invention is a server for communicating with amedical device. The server comprises memory for storing data and aprogrammable circuit in electrical communication with the memory. Theprogrammable circuit programmed with an interface for communicating witha medical device.

One aspect of the invention set forth herein is a pump server thatprovides all communication with a set of medical devices such as amedical pump. Other networked devices that exchange information (e.g.,commands, instructions, or other data) with the networked medicaldevices communicate that information through the pump server.

Another aspect of the invention is the use of a web server tocommunicate with a medical device such as a medical pump. The use of aweb server in this manner may permit a remote device to communicate witha medical device such as a medical pump without the use of a pump serverand without the need for a special program or other interface loaded onthe remote device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked system that includes a medical deviceserver and embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the networked systemillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the networked systemillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates software architecture for the pump server illustratedin FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the networked systemillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the networked systemillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the networked systemillustrated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numeralsrepresent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views.Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of theinvention, which is limited only by the scope of the claims attachedhereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification arenot intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the manypossible embodiments for the claimed invention. There are alternativeembodiments for all of the structures and methods disclosed hereinregardless of whether specific alternatives are set forth.

Referring to FIG. 1, one possible embodiment of a pump server system 10includes a pump server 100, a point of care (POC) server 102, one ormore programmable devices 104, and one or more medical pumps 106. Thepump server 100 and the POC server 102 are connected to a computernetwork 108. Additionally, the pump server system 10 includescommunication/output devices such as a mobile phone 110, a pager 112, afax machine 114, a printer 116, and a modem 118. The server 100 iscalled a “pump server” as an exemplary embodiment for purposes ofexplanation. The server 100 can be used to communicate with any type ofmedical device, including medical devices other than medical pumps.

The network 108 can be any appropriate network capable of transportingdata from one device to another, including a wired network such as anEthernet network, a wireless network such as an 802.11a/b/g or otherwifi network. Additionally, the network 108 can be any type of datanetwork such as an internal network, the Internet, or an Intranet.

The pump server 100 and the POC server 102 divide and coordinate tasksfor managing information, executing various functions, and communicatingwith various devices within the pump server system 10. The pump server100 and the POC server 102 can be any programmable device that storesinformation and performs critical functions for the storage of thatinformation. In various embodiments, the server also might be programmedto execute various functions related to the operation and monitoring ofmedical pumps 106. A structure that includes a separate pump server 100and POC server 102 has several advantages. For example, the medicalpumps 106 need to be programmed and otherwise configured to interfacewith only one device—the pump server 100. Another advantage forinstitutions that utilize medical pumps 106 from different manufacturesor even different pumps from the same manufacturer is that variouscomponents of networked hardware do not need to be programmed with allof the different pumps—only the pump server 100 needs to be programmedto talk directly with the medical pumps 106. As a result, it is simplerand more cost effective for a caregiver institution to add and removevarious medical pumps 106 from its inventory of equipment.

The pump server 100 communicates directly with the pumps 106 and withthe POC server 102. The POC server then communicates with all of theother devices. In this exemplary embodiment, the POC server 102instructs the pump server 100 to retrieve data from any selected medicalpump 106 in communication with the network 108; instructs the pumpserver 100 to send data to any selected medical pump 106 incommunication with the network 108; and requests data from the pumpserver 100 regarding any selected medical pump 106 regardless of whetherthe selected medical pump 106 is in communication with the network 108.

Although the exemplary embodiment illustrates an architecture in whichthe programmable devices 104 communicate through a POC server 102, otherembodiments are possible. In various embodiments, programmable devices104 and systems other than the POC server 102 might communicate directlywith the pump server 100. Examples, include programmable devices in abiomedical engineering (biomed) department of a caregiver institution.Such biomed programmable devices might communicate with the medicalpumps 106 directly through the pump server 100 for a variety ofdifferent reasons such as tracking pump performance, running pumpdiagnostics, or downloading pump error logs. Other systems or otherdepartments within an institution might communicate directly with thepump server 100 as well. Other examples include a caregiverinstitution's pain service, which monitors and treats patient's pain,pharmacies, and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, whichphysicians use to enter prescriptions.

The pump server stores a variety of data, executes a variety offunctions, and communicates directly with the medical pumps 106 and thePOC server 102 through the network 108. In an exemplary embodiment, thepump server 100 requests and receives information (e.g., I.D. of currentprogram and version loaded in the medical pump 106, history log, alarmstatus, battery state, and biomed status such as odometers, time untilnext scheduled maintenance, etc.) from the medical pumps 106 on thenetwork 108; receives unsolicited messages (e.g., alarms, manual pumpprogram changes, pre-programmed periodic updates, etc.) from the medicalpumps 106; maintains a database of information retrieved from or sent tothe medical pumps 106; provides a web browser interface to the medicalpumps 106, which allows a caregiver to perform a variety of tasks fromnetworked programmable devices 104 including remotely viewing the I.D.and version of the program currently loaded on a medical pumps 106,viewing the status of a medical pumps 106, and in one possibleembodiment, allowing a caregiver to change various programmingparameters such as setup and titration; providing pump alertfunctionality such as sending emails, pages, or notices to clientapplications upon the occurrence of certain pump events (e.g., alarms,programming changes, patient tampering, ratio of dose attempts to dosesgiven too high indicating the patient pain is not adequately controlled,and programming that exceeds soft limits programmed into the medicalpump 106); sending messages to the display on the medical pumps 106(e.g., when alarms are acknowledged, display message to patient statingthat nurse is on the way); sending voice messages to the medical pumps106 (e.g., when alarms are acknowledged, tell patient that nurse is onthe way); sending messages (e.g., medical pump 106 needs reservoirchanged at approximately 8:00 pm) to the printer 116 or the fax 114 at anursing station; providing information (e.g., electronic copy ofmanuals, troubleshooting guides, patient guides, etc.) about the medicalpumps 106 to a caregiver using programmable devices 104; verifying thesoftware revision for programs loaded on the medical pumps 106 anddownloading new or updated software to the medical pumps 106; andcontrolling pump and document results during biomed testing processes.

In another possible embodiment, the pump server 100 implements StandingOrder protocols. An example of implementing Standing Order protocols isdescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/526,810,which was filed on Dec. 4, 2003 and entitled “PROGRAMMING MEDICAL PUMPSWITH ELECTRONIC STANDING ORDER TEMPLATE,” the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference. In this embodiment, the pump server100 enables the creation, storage, and management of a database ofStanding Orders; processes requests from the medical pumps 106 to sendit an index of standing order protocols or specific standing orders;sends Standard Orders-based protocols to the medical pumps 106; andsends updated library of Standing Orders-based protocols to the medicalpumps 106.

Additionally, the pump server 100 is programmed to provide notificationto a caregiver about when it is time to check on a patient. For example,the pump server 100 might generate a notification to check on a patientor check fluid levels every two hours. Notification can be through anysuitable means such as a pop-up window on a programmable device, apager, a cell phone, a printer, a fax, or the like.

In yet another possible embodiment, when a medical pump 106 isprogrammed, the pump server 100 disables the medical pump 106 until itsprogrammed parameters (e.g., delivery protocol) is reviewed by acaregiver at the point of care. In one possible programming procedure asillustrated in FIG. 8, when a medical pump 106 is programmed, the pumpserver 100 sends a disable signal or command to the medical pump 104 atoperation 140. Pumping operation of the medical pump is then disabled.The caregiver programs the medical pump 106 while it is disabled atoperation 142. After programming is complete, the caregiver reviews theprogrammed settings at operation 144. In one possible embodiment, themedical pump 106 automatically indexes through the programmed settings.In another possible embodiment, the caregiver must press a button oractivate a menu item to acknowledge that the programmed settings werereviewed and accurate. After the programmed settings are reviewed, themedical pump 106 sends a signal to the pump server 100 at operation 146,and the pump server 100 replies to the medical pump 106 with an enablesignal on command at operation 148. The medical pump can then pump fluidas programmed.

The pump server 100 can have different locations depending on thedesired embodiment. In the exemplary embodiment, the pump server 100 islocated at the caregiver's facilities. In another possible embodiment,the pump server 100 is located at a third party, such as the pumpmanufacturer or other third-party administrator.

The medical pump 106 can be any medical pump configured for infusing afluid into a patient. It includes a data port configured forcommunicating with the network 108. Examples of possible data ports forthe medical pump 106 includes a wireless data card for transmittingaccording to the 802.11 a/b/g, Bluetooth, or other appropriate wirelessnetworking protocol, USB data ports, firewire data ports, RS-232 dataports, an infrared data port, a modem, or any other data port capable ofcommunicating with the network 108 or directly with the pump server 100.In the operation of one possible embodiment, the medical pump 106 talksdirectly and only to the pump server 100 via the network 108.Accordingly, the medical pump 106 requires no knowledge or programmingfor interfacing with and talking to the POC server 102 or other devicesin the pump server system 10.

In one possible embodiment, the programmable devices 104 communicatewith the POC server 102 via the network 108 and do not communicatedirectly with the pump server 100 of the medical pumps 106. Theprogrammable devices can include any type of computing platform capableof data input and interfacing with the network 108. In variousembodiments, the programmable devices 104 are mounted in a convenientlocation such as a hospital room, nurse's station, or other locationconvenient for the caregiver. Additionally, another embodiment includesa desk-top computer on a cart that can be conveniently rolled from onelocation to another. Examples of various programmable devices 104include a pen-based computer such as a Tablet PC, a lap-top computer, adesk-top computer, or a hand-held computing platform such as a personaldigital assistant (PDA). Additionally, one possible embodiment of thePDA can include a bar code reader or radio frequency ID (RFID) readercapable of scanning a barcode or RFID tag, respectively, on a medicalpump 106 and then communicating this information to the POC server 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the programmabledevices 104 and the communication/output devices such as a mobile phone110, a pager 112, a fax machine 114, a printer 116, and a modem 118communicate directly with the pump server 100 without a POC server 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates another possible embodiment that includes additionalpoint of care medical devices 120 such as a pulse oximeter. As with themedical pumps 106, the other medical devices 120 communicate directlywith the pump server 100 over the network 108 rather than communicatingwith other networked devices. In this embodiment, the pump server 100 isprogrammed to selectively associate various medical devices 120 and/ormedical pumps 106 using a set of programmed rules that a caregiver maydefine. For example, the pump server 100 can be programmed to start orstop operation of a medical pump 106 based on data received from anothermedical device 120 (e.g., if respiration drops below a predefined limit,the pump server 100 instructs the medical pump 106 to stop pumping andgenerates an alarm). The pump server 100 also selectively provides avirtual connection between the various medical pumps 106 and medicaldevices. As a result, the medical devices 120 and medical pumps 106 donot need to be programmed to talk directly with each other. Again,because each medical device does not need to be individually programmed,this functionality makes it easier and less costly to add variousdevices to the inventory of equipment. As with medical pumps 106, thepump server 100 is programmed to generate and/or communicate variousalerts for the medical devices 120 via pages, e-mail, faxes, printouts,voice messages, etc.

FIG. 4 illustrates one possible embodiment of the architecture for thepump server 100. In this embodiment, the pump server 100 includes aninterface 122 for communicating with the POC server 102 and a Web server124, which allows other devices such as the programmable devices 104 toremotely interface with the medical pumps 106 or other medical devices120. The web server 124 allows the other devices to communicate with thepump server 100 using standard text files without the need of loadingspecial software such as interfaces, communications software or otherprograms into the remote or other devices. A remote device includes anydevice that is a separate and distinct device from the medical device120. Examples of standard text files include files formed according to amarkup language such as a hypertext markup language (HTML), standardgeneralized markup language (SGML), and extensible markup language(XML).

The pump server 100 is also programmed with various code and logic 126for executing various tasks and functions described herein and aninformation manager 128 for storing and retrieving pump information in adatabase 130. A pump interface manager 132 provides an interface for themedical pumps 106. In various embodiments, the pump interface driver 134for the medical pump 106 itself is programmed into the pump server 100,or in an alternative embodiment, the pump interface driver 136 is eitherprogrammed in the medical pump 106 itself or in a programmable moduleattached to the medical pump 106. Additionally, one possible embodimentallows the medical pump 106 to have a direct connection 138 to the pumpserver 100.

FIG. 5 illustrates a possible embodiment in which a programmable device104 a is programmed to function as a pump server. In this embodiment,the programmable device 104 a performs the same functions as the pumpserver 100 as described herein. Additionally, the programmable device104 a can request and receive information from medical pumps 106 thatare remotely located at a location such as a patient home or a medicalpump 106 that is not otherwise provided with a direct networkconnection. The connection between the programmable device 104 a and themedical pump 106 is through a dialup connection using a modem 118. Themedical pump 106 can connect to the modem 118 through a wired orwireless connection such as a connection operating according to theBluetooth protocol. Either the programmable device 104 a or the medicalpump 106 can initiate a data connection between the two. Accordingly,the programmable device 104 a can request and receive information aboutany medical pump 106 or other medical device 120 that is not on thenetwork 108 as otherwise described herein. Additionally, the medicalpump 106 or other medical device 120 can transmit to the programmabledevice 104 a unsolicited messages such as alarms, manual pump changes,pre-programmed period updates, etc.

FIG. 6 illustrates the possible embodiment in which the programmabledevices 104 communicate directly with the pump server 100 through a webserver programmed in the pump server. In this embodiment, any networkedprogrammable device 104 with a web browser can communicate with themedical pump 106 or any other medical device. An advantage of thisembodiment is that a caregiver can connect to the medical pump withwireless and remote devices to check the status of the medical pump 106or other any medical device when not physically with the patient orlocated at a site where there is a networked programmable device 104.Another advantage is that the programmable devices 104 do not need to beindividually programmed to communicate with the pump server 100.

FIG. 7 illustrates another possible embodiment in which the pump 106 orother medical device 120 is itself programmed with a web server, whichallows the medical device 120 to communicate with the pump server 100 ordirectly with other or remote devices using standard text files withoutthe need of loading special software such as interfaces, communicationssoftware, or other programs into the other devices. Again, examples ofstandard text files include files formed according to a markup languagesuch as a hypertext markup language (HTML), standard generalized markuplanguage (SGML), and extensible markup language (XML).

An advantage of this embodiment is that a caregiver can connect to themedical pump with wireless and remote devices, from any distance, tocheck the status of the medical pump 106 or other medical device 120when not physically with the patient or located at a site where there isa networked programmable device 104. Additionally, two programmabledevices 104 can be simultaneously connected to the same medical pump 106or other medical device 120 for training and troubleshooting.Additionally, a medical pump 106 or other programmable device 120 can beutilized without a display and without a keyboard. Another advantage isthat because the web server provides an interface using a standardizedprotocol to communicate information such as serving up documents, files,scripts, and other information, no further program or controlapplication need be written for the programmable devices 104.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way ofillustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention.Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modificationsand changes that may be made to the present invention without followingthe example embodiments and applications illustrated and describedherein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

1. A method of providing care to a patient, the method comprising:providing a medical pump operably coupleable to a patient and configuredto provide a therapy to the patient; providing a database configured tostore medical pump data, the medical pump data related to the operationof the medical pump; providing a server operably coupleable to thedatabase and the medical pump, the server comprising an informationmanager configured to store and retrieve medical pump data in thedatabase; providing, to the patient, a patient interface to view themedical pump data; and providing, to a caregiver, a caregiver interfaceto view the medical pump data.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving, by the server, a patient log-in prior toproviding, to the patient, the patient interface to view the medicalpump data; and receiving, by the server, a caregiver log-in prior toproviding, to the caregiver, the caregiver interface to view the medicalpump data.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical pump isprovided on a pump data network and the server is provided on a serverdata network, wherein the pump data network is inaccessible by theserver data network.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the medical pumpdata comprises at least one of a programming parameter, anidentification of a pump program, a pump program version, a pump historylog, an alarm status, a battery state, a biomedical sensor status, atime until maintenance, a programming change, a tampering alert, a ratioof dose attempts to doses given, a medical pump message, or aprogramming that exceeds a soft limit.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising requesting, by the server, medical pump data from the medicalpump.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by theserver, medical pump data from the medical pump.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising aggregating, by the server, medical pump data froma plurality of medical pumps to provide to the caregiver through thecaregiver interface.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingauthenticating the patient prior to providing, to the patient, thepatient interface to view the medical pump data.
 9. The method of claim1, further comprising authenticating the caregiver prior to providing,to the caregiver, the caregiver interface to view the medical pump data.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is stored in memory onthe server.
 11. A system for communicating between a caregiver and apatient, the system comprising: a medical pump operably coupleable to apatient and configured to provide a therapy to the patient; a databaseconfigured to store medical pump data, the medical pump data related tothe operation of the medical pump; and a server operably coupleable tothe database and the medical pump, the server including— an informationmanager configured to store and retrieve medical pump data in thedatabase, a pump interface manager configured to receive medical pumpdata from the medical pump, and a web server including a patientinterface configured to display medical pump data to the patient and acaregiver interface configured to display medical pump data to thecaregiver.
 12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a remotedevice configured to access the web server.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the remote device is configured to be operated outside of anetwork accessible by the medical pump.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the remote device is one of a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or amobile phone.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the server is furtherconfigured to authenticate at least one of 1) the patient prior toallowing access to the patient interface, or 2) the caregiver prior toallowing access to the caregiver interface.
 16. The system of claim 11,wherein the system further comprises a plurality of medical pumps andthe server is further configured to aggregate medical pump data from theplurality of medical pumps for display to the caregiver through thecaregiver interface.
 17. The system of claim 11, further comprising: apump data network operably coupling the medical pump and the server; anda server data network operably coupling the server and the database,wherein the pump data network is inaccessible by the server datanetwork.
 18. The system of claim 11, further comprising a patientcomputing device comprising a data uploader configured to receivemedical pump data from the medical pump and transmit the medical pumpdata to the pump interface manager.
 19. The system of claim 11, whereinthe database is stored in memory on the server.
 20. A system forcommunicating between a medical professional or other caregiver and apatient, the system comprising: a medical pump configured to be operatedby the patient; a remote device configured to be operated by the medicalprofessional or other caregiver outside of a network accessible by themedical pump; and a server comprising: memory configured to store data;and a programmable circuit in electrical communication with the memory,the programmable circuit comprising: a web server configured tointerface with the remote device and the medical pump, wherein theremote device and the medical pump are operably coupleable to the serversuch that data related to the operation of the medical pump is receivedby the web server from the medical pump and displayed on the remotedevice via a display interface to facilitate the exchange of informationbetween the medical professional or other caregiver and the patientabout the medical pump.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the datarelated to operation of the medical pump is received by the web serverand stored in the memory of the server.
 22. The system of claim 20,further comprising a patient remote device configured to be operated bythe patient, wherein the web server is further configured to interfacewith the patient remote device to display the data related to operationof the medical pump on the patient remote device.
 23. A system forcommunicating between a medical professional or other caregiver and apatient, the system comprising: a remote device configured to beoperated by the medical professional or other caregiver on a firstnetwork; a medical pump configured to be operated by the patient on asecond network independent from the first network; and a servercomprising: memory configured to store data; and a programmable circuitin electrical communication with the memory, the programmable circuitcomprising: a web server configured to interface with the remote deviceand the medical pump, wherein the remote device and the medical pump areoperably coupleable to the server such that data related to theoperation of the medical pump is received by the web server from themedical pump and displayed on the remote device via a display interfaceto facilitate the exchange of information between the medicalprofessional or other caregiver and the patient about the medical pump.24. The system of claim 23, wherein the data related to operation of themedical pump is received by the web server and stored in the memory ofthe server.
 25. The system of claim 23, further comprising a patientremote device configured to be operated by the patient, wherein the webserver is further configured to interface with the patient remote deviceto display the data related to operation of the medical pump on thepatient remote device.